UK live music industry peaks with over 1 million overseas music tourists last year

Virgin Radio

18 Jul 2023, 15:29

UK Music has released its Here, There and Everywhere report detailing the contribution of music tourism to the UK economy over the past year. 

This year’s report reveals a resurgence of live music in the UK as the industry enjoyed its first year without restrictions following the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Music tourism, defined by UK Music as “anyone who travelled at least three times the average commute for their region” to attend live music events, totalled 14.4m last year and saw a peak of 1.1m foreign tourists, breaking one million for the first time. 

Fans travelled across the UK to see tours of artists such as Harry Styles, Dua Lipa and Stormzy last year alongside Glastonbury headliner Paul McCartney. 

The figures released by UK Music estimate that music tourism over the past year has contributed £6.6 billion to the economy and sustains roughly 56,000 jobs. UK Music’s Chief Executive, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, commented that the report’s figures were a “testament to just how important a thriving musical ecosystem is for our towns and cities.”

“Music is one of our country’s great assets- not only is it absolutely critical to the economic success of our local areas, but it also generates huge amounts of soft power and helps put our towns and cities on the global map.”

Despite the impressive statistics and recent successes, the sector still faces huge challenges and uncertainty, with one in six festivals not returning since the pandemic, and many studios facing huge economic pressures, the report stresses a need to protect musical infrastructures. 

“By harnessing the power of music, nations and regions across the UK can generate thousands more jobs, boost economic growth and attract even more visitors to the local area. This report shows how to turn that potential into reality.”